Considering the intricacies involved in probing wildlife offences, such as poaching in the forests between Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and the delay on the part of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in investigating such crimes, the Madras High Court has decided to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising police as well as forest officers from both States. A Division Bench of Justices V. Bharathidasan and N. Sathish Kumar directed the governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to name, by February 14, officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP) to be included in the SIT. The Bench also said CBI SP S. Nirmala Devi, who had been investigating forest-related crimes so far on court orders, could also be made part of the team.
The interim direction was issued on a batch of public interest litigation petitions related to protection of wildlife and prevention of unnatural deaths due to poaching, electrocution and road and rail accidents.
The judges wrote that India had a population of 27,312 wild Asian elephants, according to a 2017 census, and they accounted for 55% of the species’ global population.
Elephants require free movement between habitats to offset seasonal variations in the availability of forage and water and need a corridor for free movement across the landscape without hindrance. Yet, a large extent of the elephant habitat in the country is unprotected and susceptible to encroachment, and statistics show that 80% of the elephant movement has some form of human disturbance, they lamented.
Further, stating that more than 100 elephants die each year owing conflicts with humans, the judges said the rail tracks passing through forest areas also pose a threat to elephants and other wildlife, with 186 elephants having died on being hit by trains between 2009-10 and 2020-21. Deaths had happened even recently in the two rail lines between Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in Kerala.
Though Southern Railway reported that it had imposed a speed restriction of 45 kmph on both lines between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., the judges directed the officials to consider reducing the speed further since the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWC) of Tamil Nadu insisted that the loco pilots be able to stop the trains immediately on sighting elephant movement near the lines. When railway counsel P.T. Ramkumar doubted whether the speed could be reduced further considering the gradients of the lines (Podanur-Palakkad down line to a length of 48.26 km and Palakkad-Podanur up line to a length of 52.56 km), the judges asked him to alternatively consider diverting some of the night trains through the Coimbatore-Pollachi-Palakkad route and revert back on February 25.
The judges also restrained Southern Railway officials from erecting solar fencing along the rail tracks until February 25 and directed them to hold consultations with the CWC who feared that such fencing might prevent the usual movement of elephants and force them to take dangerous routes filled with gorges. They asked the officials to come up with a workable solution by the next hearing.
The Division Bench, however, directed the Railway Board to take a decision by February 28 on a proposal sent by Southern Railway seeking funds to construct two underpasses on the Palakkad-Podanur up line, at a cost of ₹7.49 crore, for free movement of elephants. The Forest Department, in turn, was directed to assist the Railways in clearing the vegetation near the rail tracks to ensure better visibility for the loco pilots.
Directions were also issued for speeding up the process of erecting solar lights along the tracks, putting up sign boards to alert loco pilots to the locations prone to elephant movement, installing audio alarms which make the sounds of honeybees or a roaring tiger to keep the elephants away from the tracks, constructing watch towers and engaging elephant trackers.
